The Bible study series of the
International Churches of Christ (ICC) was examined. Each study
in the series seeks agreement to a set of concepts or
challenges. The individual studies were found to make use of
scripture twisting, illogical arguments, and emotional
manipulation to gain agreement. As the series progresses,
studies were found to seek increasingly significant commitments
from the student. The series as a whole was seen to make use of
graduated, incremental disclosure. It was concluded that, in
spite of any good intentions among ICC study leaders, the study
series manipulates the student's capacity for voluntary
consent. The series systematically narrows the student's
options until their only acceptable choice is to become a member
of the group.

Each prospective member of the International Churches of Christ
(ICC) goes through an intense period of pre-baptismal study. The
following analysis will examine the ICC Bible studies, not just as
a statement of doctrine, but as a system of indoctrination
which manipulates the commitment of individuals to serve the interests
of the group. The focus is to show how the presentation
of ICC doctrine is manipulated to achieve the student's
adherence to it.

At many junctures in the analysis, doctrinal issues will be
expanded upon.1
Concerns about ICC teachings are explored along three main
axes: internal inconsistencies within the ICC belief system,
illogical development of ICC doctrinal ideas, and contradictions
between ICC doctrine and the Biblical model the group claims to
be following. The analysis will not attempt to present the
entire content of the series, but rather to focus on areas of
concern.

Multiple ICC sources are used for the studies, since at
various junctures different published materials may be more
representative, or more revealing of inner teachings. The
"Scriptures Used" appearing at the beginning of each
study have also been assembled compositely. The sequence of
studies varies somewhat between the different published sources,
and in individual practice. Depending on the progress of the
student, some of the studies may be skipped or repeated. The
sequence presented here is an approximation of how a typical
series might proceed. Exact content of an ICC study will vary
from member to member. Additionally, the names of some of the
studies may differ between local ICC groups, although there is
generally an overlap in content.

Throughout the analysis, the ICC member leading each Bible
Study will be referred to as the "study leader". The
prospective member will be referred to as the
"student" or "recruit." All Bible quotations
are from the New International Version, or NIV (Life Application
Bible, 1991), unless otherwise noted.

The roots of the International Churches of Christ (ICC) can be
traced back to the Crossroads Movement of the late 1960s and early
1970s. Kip McKean was converted in 1972 and later trained for
ministry in Gainesville, Florida by Chuck Lucas, who was then a
campus minister employed by the Crossroads Church of Christ
(Barnett, 1989). In 1979 McKean moved to Lexington, Massachusetts
to work with a small congregation which would soon become the
Boston Church of Christ. Applying shepherding or
"discipling" methods McKean had learned at Crossroads,
the Boston church grew rapidly.

McKean claims that in the early 1980s God put on his heart
"a plan to evangelize the world" (McKean, 1989). As
the Boston Church of Christ began "planting" other
churches around the world, it became known as the Boston
Movement. The movement was given the name "International
Churches of Christ" after church leadership and
administration had moved to Los Angeles in the early 1990s.
Today, the movement claims to have planted 175 churches in 70
countries with over 70,000 members worldwide (Griest, 1995).

Concerns have been widely expressed about the psychological
consequences of membership (Yeakley, 1988), and the ethical
conduct of the organization (Bauer, 1994). Comparisons have
been made with Lifton's eight psychological themes of
thought-reform (Bauer, 1994; Giambalvo & Rosedale, 1996).

The creation of the Bible study series parallels the rise of
the movement. The series was prepared by McKean in 1979
according to the most recent publication of the studies (McKean,
1993), although in the intervening years it has been
"fine-tuned to meet specific needs" (Ibid., p. 2).
ICC World Sector Leader and spokesman Al Baird has defended the
series, saying that "The Studies are just an attempt to
boil the Bible down to the basic ingredients of how you follow
Jesus." (Griest, F4)

Intended as an initial study, the Word Study's subject matter
is relatively non-controversial. The major points of the study
center around the authority of the Bible ("God's Word").
However, much of the study paves the way for the student to accept
the specific belief system of the International Churches of Christ
(ICC).

Many Bible passages will be used during the study series, and
the study leader begins with a passage to establish the entire
Bible as a source of truth. The "Word Study" begins
with II Timothy 3: 16-17 (McKean, 1993): "All Scripture
is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting
and training in righteousness." The literal meaning
of the passage is that Scripture is inspired by God, and that
all Scripture is meant to be applied to people's lives.

Although the passage says that "all Scripture is
God-breathed", it is important to note what the passage
doesn't say. The passage doesn't say that all
interpretations of scripture are inspired. Similarly,
while the passage says that "all Scripture is . .
.useful", it does not follow logically that all
uses of scripture are correct. If one believes that the
entire Bible to be inspired, one must also be aware that
scripture can be "read into", misapplied, or quoted
out of context. This is important to keep in mind when
examining each of the ICC Bible Studies.

In addition to establishing the authority of the Bible, the
Word Study also serves to subtly encourage the student's
absorption of ICC teachings. For example, one of the
conclusions taken from II Peter 1: 19-21 ("... no
prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own
interpretation.") is that "There is no private
interpretation of the Bible." (Ibid.).

First of all, this conclusion does not follow logically from
the passage; the passage speaks about the origins of
scripture -- the way scripture was written, not the way
it is to be read. Even the staunchest biblical
literalist engages in some level of interpretation when
reading the Bible. Consider Ecclesiastes 10: 19: "A
feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money
is the answer for everything." Most readers will
interpret this verse as facetious so as to make it consistent
with the Bible's other statements about money.

Secondly, if the student cannot have a "private
interpretation" of scripture, then evidently they will have
to accept the literal meaning of each passage as it is
presented. The student's belief system can be thereby
manipulated by controlling the choice and sequence of scriptures
presented. In lieu of a personal interpretation, the student
will be more likely to accept the group's
interpretation.

While the study series introduces the ICC belief system, it
will simultaneously call the student's pre-existing beliefs into
question. The process of dismantling the students prior belief
system begins with the Word Study. Mark 7: 1-13 may be
presented (First Principles, n.d.): "...You have let
go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions
of men...Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that
you have handed down." This scripture introduces the
possibility that the student's religious traditions could be
invalid in the eyes of God. The student is discouraged from
making their religious traditions their "standard" in
life, and encouraged to make "the Word" their standard
instead.

Following is a list of some conclusions and challenges
presented in The Word Study, and possible effects each can have
for the student:

Conclusion: All scripture is useful,
and is to be applied to our lives. Prepares
the student to accept the use of the many Bible passages in the
study series.

Conclusion: There is no private
interpretation of the Bible. Encourages the student to take
the passages presented at their literal meaning. Minimizes the
importance of context in understanding the Bible, thereby
de-emphasizing critical thinking about the passages as they are
applied in the series.

Challenge: "Will you go by the Word
of God instead of by your religious traditions?"
(Ibid.). Encourages the student to question their religious
traditions. The student's religious traditions will eventually
be replaced by the beliefs/traditions of the group.

Challenge: "Will you go by what the Bible
says rather than your feelings?" (Ibid.)
Encourages the student to trust the teachings of the study
series more than their own feelings about the Bible, the group,
or the ongoing recruitment process.

Although the student may feel they are being asked to merely
"follow the Bible", in reality they are being asked to
adopt the entire ICC belief system, one step at a time. The ICC
study series does not use the whole Bible, but rather a
selective condensation of it: passages chosen represent less
than 2% of the Bible's total verses, presented in a
pre-determined order.

As the study comes to a close, the recruit is challenged to
make "the Word" their "standard" (Equipping
Class for Young Disciples, 1991). In this way, the Word Study
indirectly gains a commitment from the student to
accept the group's version of truth.Considering that
the study series consists of scriptures chosen and interpreted
by the ICC, it appears that the "standard" being
offered is that of the group.

The Discipleship Study may be perceived by the student as a
well-meaning attempt to encourage them toward a deeper commitment
to Christ. However, the study will also attempt to establish that
the student has never been a disciple, is not a Christian, and is
not "saved." In First Principles (n.d.), one
of the listed purposes of the Discipleship Study is "To
help the religious person see that he is not a Christian. (In
other words, he may be a Christian as society defines the word,
but not as the Bible does.)" Any person outside the group,
even "the religious person," is assumed to be in need
of salvation. Once it has been determined that the student is
not a "disciple", following studies will demonstrate
the need for baptism into the ICC.

The study leader may begin by explaining that the word
"disciple" appears over 270 times in the New
Testament, as compared to only three appearances of the word
"Christian" (McKean, 1993, p. 6). Then the student is
presented with the following equation:

"Disciple = Christian = saved"
(Jacoby, 1990, p. 142).

This equation is derived from Acts 11: 26, "the
disciples were first called Christians at Antioch."
The reasoning is, the earliest believers were called
"disciples" before they were ever called
"Christians", therefore it is impossible to be a
Christian without being a disciple, and one must be a
disciple in order to be saved. Taken within the context of
the entire 11th chapter of Acts, however, the passage seems to
be addressing location rather than salvation.
The verse appears to be parenthetically stating that it was
at Antioch the disciples were first given the nickname
"Christians."
2

Acts 11:26 may imply that "disciple" and
"Christian" are both viable terms which mean the same
thing. But Christians are referred to with several
different names in the New Testament, including
"disciples," "believers,"
"Christians", "brothers,"
"sisters," etc. In fact, the word
"disciple" (and all its forms) is conspicuously absent
from all of the epistles (letters) of the New Testament. The
fact that the word "disciple" is not used in 22 of
the 27 New Testament books would seem to indicate that
adopting the name "disciple" is not integral
to Christianity.

One could ask: If discipleship and Christianity are truly
synonymous, then what purpose does it serve to shift
the student's focus from one term (Christian) to the other
(disciple)? By redefining Christian = disciple, this study is
effective in getting recruits to redefinetheir spiritual status. Most students coming into the
study will already have an idea of what a Christian is, and
whether or not they are one. But by getting students to focus
on the concept of discipleship, study leaders are able
to define what a disciple is according to the group's
interpretation, and ultimately ask the question, "Are you a
disciple?" At the end of the study, students may surprise
themselves by concluding that they're not Christians, after
all.

The Discipleship Study outlines the ICC's view of what a
disciple is. To the ICC, the Great Commission (Mt. 28: 18-20)
includes a command that all disciples need to be
"discipled." (McKean, 1993, p. 7). Being
"discipled" means having a "discipler" (also
"discipleship partner" or "discipling
partner"), a person each ICC member goes to for spiritual
guidance, confession of sins, and approval of any major
decisions.3

The ICC also uses Matthew 28:18-20 to instruct every convert
to make other converts for the group. The student will be
taught that the Great Commission commanded every
disciple to make disciples of all nations.
4 As a result of
this interpretation, the ICC has issued The Evangelization
Proclamation (Baird, et al., 1994), stating the movement's
intention to establish a church in every major nation by the
year 2000, in an apparent attempt to fulfill the Great
Commission. A comparison between the NIV and King James
translations is useful at this point (Matthew 28:19):

KJV "Go ye therefore, and teach all the
nations..." (The Holy Bible, 1977).

NIV "Go and make disciples of all
nations..." (Life Application Bible, 1991).

When taken collectively, these translations and the original
Greek indicate the command was to make the nations
(people of the world) disciples (learners). Instead, the
ICC has interpreted this passage to mean: "Go and make
disciples in all nations." The difference between
these two interpretations is striking: one reads like the Great
Commission, the other like the "Great Quota"! The
latter interpretation is useful in focusing members' attention on
the ICC's particular plan of world evangelism and organizational
growth.

In the late 1980s the movement's leadership extracted a new
teaching from the Great Commission: only disciples are
candidates for baptism. (McKean, 1987). This teaching is
extracted from the word order of Matthew 28: 19 "...
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them..." But
just because the verb "make" appears before the verb
"baptizing", does notnecessarily
indicate that first you make disciples, and
then you baptize them. Word order does not mandate an
order of procedure. Rather, the grammar in both English and
Greek indicate that baptizing is partof making a disciple. It appears the ICC has built a
5 It appears the
ICC has built a core doctrine on a grammatical
misunderstanding!

ICC leaders continue to teach, "You cannot be baptized
until you become a disciple." (Young, 1992). Sometimes it
is phrased that the policy is, "...baptizing only people
who have made the decision to be disciples." (McKean,
1992). Bauer (1994) notes that "there are clear and
repeating contradictions and inconsistencies on 'the decision to
be a disciple' vs. 'being baptized as a disciple'". Both
things seem to be taught simultaneously, even though the two
teachings would appear to be incompatible. As one observer
notes, "If I made the decision to become a doctor,
I still am not a doctor." (Ruhland, 1996).

The doctrine of "disciples baptism" produces
striking contradictions when compared with other ICC teachings.
Consider a quote from the Discipleship Study in First
Principles:

"Who is a candidate for baptism?
Disciples." (McKean, 1993, p. 7).

Now, making substitutions from the equation disciple =
Christian = saved, it would follow logically to conclude:

"Who is a candidate for baptism?
Christians", or,

"Who is a candidate for baptism? (People
who are already) saved."

But these statements conflict with ICC doctrine. According to
the same publication, "Baptism is when we become a
Christian" (Ibid., p. 26), and "this (baptism) is the
point in time a person is saved." (Ibid., p. 13).

To expose the same inconsistency from another angle, consider
the following ICC teachings:

Statement 1. "Baptism is when we become
a Christian." (Ibid., p. 26).

Statement 2. "Christian =
disciple." (Ibid., p. 6)

Statement 3. "You cannot be baptized
until you become a disciple." (Young, 1992).

Now note the consequence of putting these three statements
together. Once again, making substitutions from the equation
disciple = Christian = saved we can derive the
following statement: "You cannot be baptized until you
become a Christian." This contradicts Statement 1.
One could even make further substitutions to produce the
following, nonsensical statements: "You cannot be baptized
until you get baptized", and"You cannot
become a Christian until you become a Christian." These
contradictions clearly show that the doctrine of
"disciple's baptism" is not internally
consistent.6

As the Discipleship Study comes to a close, the student will
be asked if they are a disciple, if they are a Christian, and if
they are saved. Since the student has been presented with an
idiosyncratic interpretation of discipleship to which no one outside
the ICC subscribes, the only acceptable response to these questions
is "no". If the study is successful, no matter who
the student is and regardless of their religious background, it
will "prove" that the student is in need of salvation
as defined by the group.

The purpose of the Kingdom Study is to show that the
Scriptural "kingdom of heaven" or "kingdom of
God," is synonymous with "the church". Whether
stated explicitly by the study leader or not, the "inner
doctrine" is that the ICC is the Kingdom of God
(McKean, 1989). The student will be challenged to "seek
the kingdom" (ICC) first in their lives.

The study begins by linking together biblical prophecies about
the "kingdom", culminating in the conclusion that
"the church is the Kingdom of God on earth established in
approximately 33 AD." (McKean, 1993, p. 11).

The view that the church is synonymous with the Kingdom of God
produces some theological inconsistencies. Although the New
Testament authors occasionally refer to the kingdom in the
present tense (Col 1:13, I Cor 4:20), many other passages talk
about the kingdom as something to be inherited,
presumably after this life (I Cor 6:9, 15:50, Gal 5:21, James
2:5). Acts 14:22 even depicts Paul and Barnabus instructing
"disciples" that they must "go through many
hardships to enter the kingdom of God." If the Kingdom
of God had already started on the Day of Pentecost, and if the
"disciples" in Acts were part of the Kingdom,
as this study teaches, then Acts 14:22 makes no sense. It would
have been incongruous to imply that members of the
kingdom had not yet entered the kingdom.

Like many of the studies, the Kingdom Study walks a fine line
between "outer doctrine" and "inner doctrine."
The study leader may not openly disclose "the truth"
that the ICC is the Kingdom. Instead, similarities may
be pointed out between the ICC and the New Testament church
portrayed in Acts 2:42-47, indicating that ICC members are
"citizens of the Kingdom." (Ibid.). "The
truth" about the ICC being the Kingdom may be
disclosed incrementally -- e.g., later the Denominationalism and
False Doctrines Study will claim that no other church
today is part of the kingdom, or the Church Study will
"prove" that there can only be one
church./P>

If successful, the Kingdom Study will convince the student to
put the group (Kingdom) above all other priorities in life. The
unstated equation church = kingdom is applied to Matthew
6: 25-33 ("seek first his kingdom"):

Seek the kingdom first of all the things in your
life, all your obligations, all your worries. The kingdom of
God -- his church -- should come first. It will be your
priority or you are disobeying God. (Study notes of ICC member,
November 1994).

A spurious "equation" has been manipulated to
produce devotion to the group. Of course, word
substitution makes for some dicey theology: let's try a few
other "substitutions" -- replacing the word
"kingdom" with "the church" --
to illustrate how this technique can distort the
meaning of Bible passages (substitution underlined):

I Cor 15:50 "I declare to you, brothers,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
church..."

Mt 8:11 "I say to you that many will come from the east
and the west, and will take their places at the feast with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the ICC."

Mt 11:11 "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women
there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet
he who is least in the Boston Movement is greater than
he."

The Sin and Repentance Study takes on several different
names/forms: including separate Sin/Repentance studies (Jacoby,
1990), Light and Darkness Part I (McKean, 1993) or Sin &
Redemption.
7 The commonalities
of these versions are that sin is discussed and defined, and the
student is expected to confess in detail the relevant sins from
their background:

Obviously, this can be a traumatic process for the student,
and the study is supposed to bring them to a point of
"godly sorrow" (Equipping Class for Young Disciples,
1991). Generally, the scripture used by the ICC to justify it's
practice of confession is James 5:16 (Ibid.):

"Therefore confess your sins to each other
and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of
a righteous man is powerful and
effective."

Considering the preceding verses, however, this passage
appears to have been taken out of context. Verses 14 and 15
would seem to indicate that physical healingwas the
issue: "Is anyone sick ... the prayer offered in
faith will make the sick person well." In
this context, James 5:16 may only be suggesting
confession for the sake of physical healing. James 5:16 alone
would not seem to command a confession to others of all sins,
especially considering that there is no other verse in
the New Testament which specifically mentions confession of sins
to others!

It's interesting that, after this initial study,
mutual confession is generally not emphasized.
Confession moves through the discipling hierarchy from the
bottom up, with members generally confessing their sin to the
"disciplers" above them. Why is "each
other" confession, with this same literal interpretation of
James 5:16, not emphasized among ICC members? One theory:
mutual confession would reveal too many weaknesses in the
authority figure, tilting the balance of power away from the
discipler. Hierarchical confession increases dependence on
group authority, and helps to keep the discipler in a position
of power.

The authority of church leadership is also reinforced by some
of the definitions given to sin in the Sin and Repentance study.
Notice some of the behaviors listed as sins:

Idolatry: anything that I put
before God...It is whatever keeps me from obeying and
following God in every way. . .big bank balance...my own
pleasure and wants...pride...

Discord: stirring up trouble. .
.arguing...

Selfish ambition: wanting my own
way...refusing to admit that I am wrong...

By redefining biblical sins in terms that favor the
group, the ICC will be more able to control the
behavior of their converts.

Before progressing to the next study, the student will need to
demonstrate their repentance:

We have already warned against the premature study
of baptism. Again it is essential that you study
conversion only with people who are serious about their
repentance. (Jacoby, 1990, p. 158).

If you establish their need for forgiveness
before the baptism study, you will turn baptism into a
joyfully simple solution rather than a doctrinal technicality of
'your church.'(Ibid., p. 123)

If successful, this study will produce a student who attains a
group-determined standard of "godly sorrow" about their
life. The system of confession introduced in this study will
become an effective tool in maintaining control over members.

The Light and Darkness study, similar to the Baptism Study
(Jacoby, 1990), clearly outlines the ICC's views on baptism and
salvation. Light & Darkness ambitiously defines baptism as
the moment of salvation. (McKean, 1993). The student will be
asked if they are in the "light", or in the
"darkness". If this study is successful, it will show
that the student is "in darkness" until they are
baptized into the group.

The study leader will introduce scriptures to support the ICC
belief that baptism is the precise moment of salvation (e.g. Acts
2:38, Romans 6:3-7, Colossians 2:11-12, I Peter 3:21). The intent
here is not to disprove this particular doctrine -- the subject
has been addressed at length elsewhere. (Water Baptism and Salvation.
. ., 1986). But since the ICC's doctrines about baptism are central
to their claims of exclusivity, it is useful to examine some areas
where ICC baptismal teachings are inconsistent with
Biblical precedents:

The ICC evangelism handbook, Shining Like Stars
(Jacoby, 1990), gives many reasons to avoid the
"premature study" of baptism, including: avoiding
turning off recruits, increasing longevity of converts, that
"New Testament teaching on baptism is not logically
intuitive" (p. 155), and that "if the person does not
become a Christian, he/she goes away with potentially harmful
information about your church and its beliefs." (p. 190). In
the ICC, the "premature study" of baptism is something
to be avoided. By comparison, in Acts chapter 2, three thousand
people were baptized after a single sermon! Most New Testament
conversion stories take place in a single day (Acts 2, Acts 8:
26-38, Acts 10: 24-48, Acts 16: 25-34).

Baptism can be withheld from someone who's not
ready.(Ibid.). The intention is to produce a lasting conversion.
But in practice, baptism is withheld until individuals have fully
agreed to important points of ICC doctrine/practice. There is no
Biblical precedent for church authority being used to withhold
baptism. In fact, the apostle Peter on one occasion says,
"Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with
water?" (Acts 10:47). One could argue that if an
apostle cannot claim this authority, who can?

Rebaptism is common in the ICC. The only New Testament
example of rebaptism is Acts 19:1-5, where "disciples"
are rebaptized because they had been unfamiliar with the
significance, and perhaps even the existence, of Christ. By
contrast, Apollos knew only the baptism of John (Acts 18:24-26),
but no re-conversion or rebaptism is mentioned in his
case.

The stated aim of The Cross Study is as follows:
"To inform the studier of God's solutions to our sin and to
motivate the reader to love God." (First Principles,
n.d.). While this goal sounds noble enough, an examination of
the Cross Study shows that there are problems in the emphasis
and methodology of this study.

The unstated goal of this study seems to create a
state of strong emotional remorse in the student, setting the
stage for their conversion. The goal is to create a recruit who
is "broken" or "cut to the heart." One
edition of First Principles indicates the Cross Study
is proceeding as desired only if the student feels this way:
"If cut, then fine, if not there is something
wrong." (Ibid.). Apparently, if the student is not
emotionally affected by the Cross Study, the study is not
producing its intended results.

Study leaders typically supplement biblical Passion readings
with medical articles on the crucifixion, usually C. Truman
Davis' The Passion of Christ from a Medical Point of
View (McKean, 1993). Although medical perspectives on
crucifixion may lend insight into the sufferings of Christ, the
juxtaposition of Bible verses and medical journal excerpts in
this study intensifies the story of the crucifixion,
almost to the point of revisionism.

The Cross Study in Shining Like Stars even
includes details about the nails: "...nails were driven
through Jesus' wrists into the wood. These iron spikes, about 6
inches long and 3/8 inch thick, severed the large sensorimotor
nerve, causing excruciating pain in both arms..."
(Jacoby, 1990, p. 152). Study notes of an ICC member (n.d.) can
show this emphasis on dramatizing the sufferings of Christ: The
Scripture "They stripped him" becomes
"they tore his clothes off." "They spit on
him" becomes "the saliva of 200 men."
"Wove a crown of thorns and set it on his
head" becomes "jammed into his scalp."

In focusing on the emotional aspects of the crucifixion story,
the study leader may add fictional sad stories: One story
circulating in the movement is about a train bridge, where a man
is a switch operator. His son walks out onto the tracks in front
of a passenger train. Instead of switching the train off the
tracks and killing the passengers, the father allows the train to
kill his only son.
8 Such stories are
more than insightful; they can be used to willfully manipulate
the student's emotions.
9

If the Cross Study follows the Sin and Repentance study, it
may also become personalized to include the student's
own sins: "Realize that Jesus suffered and died because of
your (immorality, drunkenness, hatred, bitterness)." (First
Principles, n.d.) In addition to encouraging the student to
"love God", it's also apparent that the study can
foster a works-mentality wherein the recruit will be motivated
to repay Jesus by serving the interests of the
group:

God's forgiveness motivated (Paul) to work super hard
for the Lord.

Do you have a clear picture now?

What is your response? (Hard work?)

What do you think you need to start doing? (Equipping
Class for Young Disciples, 1991).

Another theological concern about the Cross Study is that it
emphasizes the crucifixion at the expense of the
resurrection. The emphasis is on the physical torture of
Christ. To many Christians, the story of "the cross"
includes the crucifixion and the resurrection.

If successful, the Cross Study will produce a recruit who is
"cut to the heart" (Ibid.), an apparent reference to
Acts 2: 37: "When the people heard this, they were cut
to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles,
"Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter's answer to
this question in Acts 2 was: accept the gift of salvation and
the forgiveness of sins.

By contrast, an ICC recruit who is "cut to the
heart" by the Cross Study is not ready to be
forgiven, and not ready to be a member (disciple) of the church
until more studies are digested.

This study also exists in several different forms, including
Light and Darkness Part II (McKean, 1993), Denominationalism
(Equipping Class for Young Disciples, 1991), and False Doctrines
About Conversion. (Jacoby, 1990). The main thrust of this study
is to show that all (other) Christian denominations are invalid,
and guilty of teaching false doctrines. The study is intended
to be "only done with someone who knows they are lost
before God." (Equipping Class for Young Disciples,
1991).

The ICC defines a denomination as "a group of a
name", and says that denominations are
"unscriptural." (McKean, 1993, p. 27). Ironically,
one can make a very strong case that the ICC itself is
a denomination: Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
(1981) defines "denomination" as "a religious
organization uniting in a single legal and administrative body a
number of local congregations." The ICC qualifies in all
aspects.10

By surveying the Scriptures chosen for this study, we can see
how the Denominationalism and False Doctrines study is focused on
revealing the ICC as the only legitimate Christian group.
11 According to
this study, the religious groups guilty of "false
teachings" include: Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians,
Episcopalians, Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Baptists,
Pentecostals, converts of TV ministries, Campus Crusade,
Navigators, The Bridge, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims,
Buddhists, and Hindus. (Equipping Class for Young Disciples,
1991).

After summarizing a list of perceived false doctrines in the
world today, the study leader may conclude that "We don't
know of any other groups who are teaching and following the
Bible." (Ibid.). ICC leader Kip McKean is also very clear
about the spiritual status of the world outside the ICC:

When you preach who is really saved: that you gotta
have faith, you gotta repent, you gotta become a true disciple
of Jesus, and then you gotta be water immersed ... that
excludes all other denominations, ... everybody else that's
out there. (McKean, 1995).

By systematically reviewing and discrediting the teachings of
other religious groups, this study is effective in encouraging
the student to regard the group as the sole source of truth.
This minimizes any potential future impact from spiritual support
systems outside the ICC (clergy, religious family member or
friends, etc.). Once the student's pre-existing belief system
has been refuted and dismantled, it can be replaced by that of
the group.

This study appears to be an attempt to deal with issues of
charismatic Christianity and doctrinal issues involving the Holy
Spirit. As such, it is usually reserved for students with
Pentecostal or other charismatic backgrounds. Other recruits
are likely to encounter the study after conversion, if at all.
Since it is an optional study, it will be discussed only
briefly. Sometimes the study is broken down into two separate
studies, Baptism with the Holy Spirit and Miraculous Gifts of
the Holy Spirit. (McKean, 1993).

Like Denominationalism/False Doctrines, this study is an
attempt to refute perceived false doctrines in other religious
groups, while simultaneously clarifying and solidifying ICC
doctrine on Holy Spirit issues.

The Church Study defines the church as the body of Christ, and
discusses the student's role as a member of "the body"
(ICC).

Generally, the study leader will begin by drawing a
stick-figure, pointing out that Christ is the "head"
of the "body", and that the "body" is the
"church". (McKean, 1993). Then, after reading
scriptures which speak of "one body", the study leader
may conclude that "The Bible teaches there is one true
church." (First Principles, n.d.). This conclusion results
from a subtle "twisting" of scripture. The implicit
"proof" would be structured like this:

The conclusion that "The Bible teaches there is one true
church" is especially puzzling, considering that the phrases
"one true church," "true church," and even
"one church" never appear in the Bible!

The ICC's use of the word "church" gives it an
organizational emphasis (i.e., an emphasis on a
specific group of people) that is inconsistent with the New
Testament. The student may have been told in an earlier study
that the Greek word for "church", ekklesia,
means "the called out - people belonging to a special
purpose." (Equipping Class for Young Disciples, 1991).
However, the Church Study and the Kingdom Study try to equate
the church/ekklesia with an organization (the
ICC). Notice that the definition of ekklesia is not
organizationally specific. "The church" spoken of in
the New Testament is a reference to all the believers, wherever
they may be.

By teaching that the ICC itself is "the church"/body
of Christ, this study is successful in solidifying the student's
commitment to the organization. The student is told they
"must come to all services. i.e. Sunday, Wednesday,
Devotionals, Bible Talks, Retreats, Seminars, etc."
(McKean, 1993, p. 27). This rule results from a questionable
interpretation of Hebrews 10: 23-25. The passage "let
us not give up meeting together, as some in the habit of
doing" is stretched to mean: "Do not miss any
service of the church." (First Principles, n.d.)
Obviously, there is a difference between "giving up meeting
together" and "missing any service."

Some versions of the Church Study may cover additional,
inner teachings about "the church" (First
Principles, n.d.):

Obey the leaders in the church... each member of
the church is to be a persuadable, leadable person. .
.

If there is still no change or repentance and you
choose to remain in fellowship, then we will withdraw from you
and no longer consider you a member...

...negatively running down the church or leaders to
other members is sinful and will not be permitted. .
.

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.
Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he
has enough money to complete it?"(Luke 14:
28)

The term "counting the cost" comes from a scripture
where Jesus said one should estimate the cost of being his
follower.
13 The Counting the
Cost Study would seem to be a more complicated process, in which
students are evaluated to determine if they are ready to
join the ICC.

Quotes from the Counting the Cost Study in Shining Like
Stars (Jacoby, 1990, pp. 232-236) show that students are
being evaluated in many more areas than simply their willingness
to follow Jesus:

Evaluating the student's attitude towards the ICC.

"What is the greatest difference you see
between our church and other groups?"

"Taking a stand with family and friends. .
.Does he understand that they are lost?

"Ask him if he knows other true Christians
(e.g. in his old church, at home, in his country, at work,
family...)"

Evaluating whether the student has accepted the ICC doctrinal
stances previously taught in the study series.

"Ask about the false doctrine of 'praying Jesus
into your heart.'"

"Evangelism is for every
Christian."

"Make sure he understands that it is not God's
will for him to attend any other church."

Preparing the student for negative reactions to their ICC
membership.

"Make sure he understands that persecution is
the inevitable result of preaching repentance."

"Ask him how he would react if they (family and
friends) opposed him."

Gaining the student's agreement to ICC policies.

"Attending all services."

"Finances...All Christians are expected to
support the work of the church
14
"

"Make sure he knows who will be discipling
him."

"Stress the need to be open to
advice."

"Since we can marry only disciples...it
stands to reason that we should date only disciples." (ICC
members)

Unlike the Biblical model of "counting the cost",
this ICC study seems to be centered around gauging the student's
assimilation of ICC teachings, revealing more consequences of
joining the group, and gaining a final commitment that the
recruit will meet the conditions of membership. The student must
agree to the entire package before they can become a member.

By the end of the study series many, if not most, recruits
believe that they are lost/going to hell unless they are
baptized. This creates the potential for ethically questionable
scenarios in which study leaders can withhold
"salvation" from recruits who have not fully conformed
to the program. The potential for undue influence on the
student's decision making process is obvious.

The Church: Solidifies the student's
commitment to the organization (church).

Counting the Cost: Reveals more
consequences of joining the group. Gains a final commitment
that the recruit will meet the conditions of membership.
Withholds "salvation" from those who will not
accede to these conditions.

Initial studies are centered around relatively innocuous
topics, but as the series progresses, more controversial beliefs
of the group are revealed. The student who gives the
"proper" response to the Word Study ("I'll take
the Word as my standard") is allowed to progress to the
next study. A recruit who gives the "proper" response
to the Discipleship Study ("I want to be a disciple")
is allowed to progress to the Kingdom Study, which tells them
that the ICC is the Kingdom of God. The student who accepts the
group's interpretation of baptism is allowed to progress to
Counting the Cost, etc. The ICC withholds group
"truths" which will only be introduced to a recruit
once they have progressed far enough into the study series.
"The truth" is doled out in small increments,
according to what the student is "ready to know."

However, if "truth" is really
"truth," then it should remain so regardless of the
order in which we tell it. If the ICC were to reverse the order
of the studies, starting by informing the student of
the rules and conditions of being a member (Counting the Cost),
then telling them that all non-ICC professing
Christians are going to hell (Denominationalism & False
Doctrines), and eventually closing with a relatively innocuous
study about the authority of the Bible (The Word Study), the
result might be quite different. Obviously, the series would
not be as effective.

The ICC may try to defend incremental disclosure using a
"student in school" type of analogy, in which the
student must understand Algebra before Trigonometry, and
Trigonometry before Calculus, etc. (Clayton, 1996). But this
analogy caves in along one very significant front: The graduated
nature of the ICC study series is not based on an intellectual
understanding of each level/study, but rather on
agreement. (Ibid.). The statement "I am lost"
does not require a lengthy discourse for one to understand it, but
it may require this to get someone to agree to
it.

There are two approaches to interpreting scripture:
exegesis (examining text to discern its most probable
meaning) and eisegesis (reading one's own beliefs into a
text). Often the scriptures chosen for the ICC studies appear to
have been arranged to support a view already decided upon. The
meanings of passages are distorted to achieve interpretations
favorable to the group.

Scripture twisting is assisted by the highly-structured nature
of the ICC study series. Study leaders are thoroughly trained
through "equipping classes," books, etc. to present
a carefully orchestrated succession of scriptures and analogies.
The crucial teachings of the ICC study series (at least the ones
that delineate the ICC from mainstream religious groups) are held
together not by scriptures, but by man-made analogies,
diagrams, and dubious equations. A student who was simply given
the scripture list of an ICC study, and asked to study at length
and formulate their own conclusions would most likely come up
with an entirely different set of responses.

Studies like Sin and Repentance, The Cross, and Light and
Darkness can induce guilt or fear in the student. The group may
rationalize this by pointing out biblical precedents where
characters may have felt guilt about their actions (e.g. the
Cross Study and Acts 2:37). But there is a big difference
between a person spontaneously feeling remorse, and
systematically producing remorse in a person until they
reach a group standard of "godly sorrow."
The latter can be seen as a form of undue influence.

Several practices insure that peer pressure will occur during
the period of study. Ideally, each study in the series will be
taught by at least two ICC members (Jacoby, 1990). If two recruits
arrive to study at the same time, they will likely be separated
into two separate study groups. When possible, students will
be paired with group members of similar age, interests, etc.

ICC members have been taught that the first step to "win
people to Christ" is to "build a good friendship"
(McKean, 1993, p. 5), and there is an emphasis on becoming the
"best friend" of the people they are studying with.
In a section on foreign evangelism, Shining Like Stars
points out the value of friendship in influencing the
decision-making process:

It is amazing to think that within a few months or
weeks after meeting someone, you will be challenging him to give
up smoking, drinking, or immorality, or to change his job,
schedule, or travel plans. You will be challenging him to leave
his family's religious beliefs, no matter how devout and sincere
they are. These are very hard decisions to make... We need to
be people's best friends so that we can encourage and persuade
them to make these kinds of decisions. (Jacoby, 1990, p.
66).

The student's prior religious beliefs are gradually
disassembled and ultimately replaced with the beliefs of the
group. Teardown begins in the Word Study, when students are
told that religious traditions (including the student's) can be
worthless. As the series continues, basic elements of the
student's belief system may be redefined (e.g. the term
"Christian" is redefined: disciple=Christian=saved).
By the end of the study series, a recruit's unacceptable beliefs
have been cleared away and replaced with those of the
movement.

Each study in the series seeks the student's agreement to a
set of concepts or challenges. The techniques used to gain
these commitments include scripture twisting, logically unsound
arguments, oversimplified theological "equations",
peer pressure, emotional manipulation, and ultimately setting up
the group (ICC) as the sole broker of truth, so that the student
will need to agree with the group's teachings to attain
"salvation." In spite of any good intentions by the
study leader, the very structure of the studies is
manipulative.

When we consider the study series as a whole, our
perception of manipulated commitment takes on new dimensions.
Early in the series, the student makes small commitments at a
time when they can't possibly discern the implications of these
commitments. Broad challenges like "Will you take the Bible
as your standard?" or "Do you want to be a disciple of
Jesus?" lead eventually to specific commitments to the
organization. The student's agreement to these
challenges has implications they are unable to foresee. As they
proceed through the series, words like "disciple" and
"kingdom" are redefined, so that the outer
doctrines they originally perceived when they were an
outsider become inner doctrines with new consequences.
By orchestrating the flow of information, the group maniplates
the student's capacity for voluntary consent.

As the student reaches the later studies, the commitments
sought from them become increasingly specific. Ultimately the
recruit will be asked to agree to a complete package of
doctrines and expectations. After a gradual and systematic
narrowing of the student's options, the only acceptable choice
is for them to become a member of the group.

1.
It should be noted that there is a great deal of doctrinal
overlap between the ICC and mainstream Churches of Christ, from
which the ICC grew. In fact, much of what is taught in the study
series is simply old "mainline" Church of Christ doctrine which
has been solidified, codified and magnified into a new extreme
form.

2.
Let’s take as an example the sentence "Bill was first called
‘Scuzzy’ at summer camp." The person who tried to find a higher
meaning in this sentence would be missing the point: they'd be
in error if they concluded that "Someone must be named ‘Bill’ in
order to be called ‘Scuzzy’", or vice versa. The whole point of
the sentence was to tell you where Bill got his nickname!

3.
Of course, the words "discipler" or "discipled" do not appear in
the Bible. The ICC may defend discipling with arguments like
"God discipled Jesus", "Barnabus discipled Paul", etc. But
several New Testament conversion stories, including Acts 2:41,
Acts 8:34-40, and Galatians 1:15-24, describe situations in
which assignment of discipling partners at conversion would have
been all but impossible. Also, events portrayed in passages
like Acts 15:36-41, Galatians 2:11-14, and Acts 15: 1-5 would
have been highly unlikely in an ICC-style discipling
heirarchy.

4.
One should consider that the Great Commission was given to the
11 apostles (see vs. 16), who were a very special class of
disciples.

5.
Consider the parallel statement, "Make popsicles of all
flavors... freezing them." The word order in this statement does
not indicate that one should make the popsicles before freezing
them -- in fact, this would be impossible. One cannot "make" a
popsicle without freezing it.

6.
Ironically, "disciple's baptism" is perhaps the ultimate
distinguishing feature of ICC doctrine. This teaching was
introduced by ICC leadership at a time when the movement was
still in fellowship with mainline Churches of Christ. The
introduction of this new teaching made the ICC's teaching on
salvation doctrinally distinct from the rest of the Christian
world.

7.
The church where the author participated in this study chose to
call the study Sin & Redemption, but in spite of
the name, there was no "redemption" in the study. Even after
several Bible studies and the confession of sins, the student is
not "ready" for forgiveness -- the repentant student will need
to successfully complete the Counting the Cost study
and possibly other studies before redemption can be administered
in the form of an ICC baptism. It occurred to the author that,
if there was to be no redemption from sin, a more accurate name
for this study would be Sin and
Confession.

8.
A version of this story appears in Shining Like
Stars (Jacoby, 1990, p. 149).

9.
One of the scriptures often quoted in the ICC implies that the
Word of God is sufficient to convict one’s soul: "The word of
God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and
marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
(Hebrews 4: 12). If the Word (Bible) is truly sufficient, one
could question why the ICC needs medical articles and anecdotes
to "convict" their students. The Cross Study’s preoccupation
with systematically producing a "broken" student would seem to
run contrary to the aims of a healthy religious group.

10.
One standard ICC defense to being called a denomination would be
to quote Romans 16:16 "All the churches of Christ send
greetings." The interpretation is that "churches of Christ" is
a biblical name, therefore this name, or "denomination", was not
created by men. However, Paul’s use of a lowercase "c" is
significant: he was probably making generic reference to the
churches, rather than trying to illustrate which church names
are acceptable -- Paul’s emphasis seems inclusive rather than
exclusive. Also, consider that the first-century believers are
referred to elsewhere in the New Testament as the "church of
God," "church of the living God," "church of the first-born,"
and "church of the saints." One could speculate whether the ICC
would consider a church with one of these names a
"denomination".

11.
Romans 16: 16, Col 1: 18 & Eph 4:4-6 can be used to support ICC
exclusivity (i.e. the ICC is the only remaining remnant of the
body of Christ). I Timothy 3: 1-12, Hebrews 13: 7 and Titus 1:5
support ICC teachings on church authority. I Timothy 4: 1-3 and
II Timothy 4: 1-5 are used to aggressively point the finger of
blame at (other) denominations. "Problem scriptures" may
reviewed ( I Corinthians I- 17, Acts 16: 31, Revelations 3: 20,
and Romans 10: 9-10 are passages which create "problems" by
appearing to conflict with ICC doctrine). Verses such as Mt
7:21, Rm 6: 4-6, Acts 22: 16, Colossians 2:12, and John 8:31 &
32 can be brought in to reinforce the ICC's teachings on
salvation. Passages such as John 17: 20-21 and I Cor 1: 10-13
can be used to show the importance of unity in the body of
Christ.

12.
It would also be a false "proof" to say that, since there is
only one head (Christ), then there is only one body (church).
Just as Christ is not a physical "head", so the church is not a
physical body (organization).

13.
Actually, the term "counting the cost" is never used in the NIV
Bible, the unofficial translation of the movement. This is
apparently a vestigial KJV (King James Version) term remaining
from the movement’s early history. The KJV says "counteth the
cost" whereas the NIV says "estimate the cost."

14.
ICC members are generally expected to give at least 10% of their
gross income to the church. There is no New Testament scripture
to support mandatory tithing: it was the Law of Moses which had
commanded the Israelites to give a tithe (tenth). Ironically,
in their attempt to restore the New Testament church, the ICC
has conveniently reinstated an Old Testament policy.

Bourland, E., Owen, P., & Reid, P. (1986). The
issue of water baptism and salvation in the International
(Boston) Church of Christ and the mainline Church of
Christ. Waltham, MA: Waltham Evangelical Free Church.

Clayton, A. (1996, February 14). Re: son in
ICC/help. alt.religion.christian.boston-church.

Equipping Class for Young Disciples. (1991).
Greater Philadelphia Church of Christ.